Lotto to offer more chances than ever to become a millionaire from October

New ‘Millionaire Raffle’ to guarantee at least one millionaire per draw; Bigger rolling jackpots – average winning jackpots will be triple the current level; Players will choose six numbers from 59, rather than from 49 today; Better odds of becoming a millionaire than on the current game; Matching two numbers will win a free go

National Lottery operator Camelot today announced that some exciting changes are being made to its Lotto game in October. The enhancements will create more millionaires than ever before; will introduce a new Millionaire Raffle; will offer bigger rolling jackpots; will give players a free go for matching two numbers; and mean that the chances of winning at least £1 million will be better than the chances of winning the jackpot on today’s game. The enhancements will change the way the game works by adding additional numbers for players to choose from – from six from 49 to six from 59.

The changes follow Lotto’s successful re-launch in 2013 and are part of Camelot’s ongoing commitment to offer players continuously fresh, exciting and enticing prizes across all National Lottery games. This, in turn, will deliver more money for Good Causes, through a thriving and healthy National Lottery.

The key highlights include:

A new ‘Millionaire Raffle’ which will guarantee at least two millionaires each week – one on a Wednesday and one on a Saturday – in addition to 20 winners of £20,000 in every draw.

Bigger rolling jackpots – from October onwards, average winning jackpots are expected to be triple the level of winning jackpots on the current game.

Better odds of becoming a millionaire – in an average week, the chances of winning at least £1 million on the new game will be better than winning the jackpot on the current Lotto game – with odds at one in just under 10 million*, versus one in just under 14 million on today’s game.

Six balls will now be drawn from a total of 59 – the way the game works will be changing and, from October, players will choose 6 numbers from 59 instead of the 49 today.

Matching two numbers will win a free go. Players matching two numbers will get a Lucky Dip® ticket for a future draw – giving them another chance to be a millionaire.

An extra 1.8 million winners a week will be created through the new Match 2 prizes. This new prize tier means that the overall chance of winning any prize increases from 1 in 54 on the current game to 1 in 9.3 come October. A link to the full table of the game’s new odds and prize structure can be found here: https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/lotto-changes

Andy Duncan, Chief Executive of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, said:“Lotto has enjoyed two years of consecutive growth since we re-invigorated the game in 2013 – and has already delivered over £250 million more to Good Causes than if we had done nothing to change the game. What we’re announcing today – offering players more chances than ever to become a millionaire on Lotto and bigger rolling jackpots – is part of our programme of continuous innovation and builds on Lotto’s ongong success. New ideas and fresh, enticing prizes will keep the game healthy and thriving – ultimately delivering even more for players and Good Causes.”

Other aspects of Lotto will stay unchanged – for example, matching three numbers will still win players £25 and the price will remain at £2 per line.

As a result of the enhancements, the odds and prize structure on Lotto HotPicks – which uses the same numbers as Lotto – will also change, with bigger prizes on offer to players. Full details can again be found online at:https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/lotto-changes

The exact October launch date – including details of the amazing launch events – will be confirmed in due course. In the meantime, with no immediate changes taking place, players can continue to play Lotto as normal.

*Overall odds of becoming a millionaire on the new game refers to combined odds of winning the jackpot or £1 million on the Millionaire Raffle in an average week

Notes to Editors:

Camelot UK Lotteries Limited is the licensed operator of The National Lottery® and is committed to raising money for National Lottery Good Causes designated by Parliament. Camelot is not responsible for distributing or awarding these funds.

Each week, Camelot generates over £34 million for National Lottery-funded projects – in total £33 billion has now been raised and more than 450,000 individual grants have been made across the UK, the biggest programme of civic and social regeneration since the 19th Century.

The National Lottery has so far given away over £55 billion in prizes and created more than 3,800 millionaires or multi-millionaires since its launch in 1994.

Camelot runs the most cost-efficient major lottery in Europe, with around 4% of total revenue spent on operating costs.

The UK National Lottery is ranked at just 51st in the world in terms of per capita spend, despite being the sixth largest lottery in the world by sales – clear evidence of Camelot’s longstanding commitment to being a responsible operator. (Source: La Fleur’s 2015 World Lottery Almanac)